Basketball: Stepping out on court not to lose endemic of Hawks' defeatist culture

First assistant coach Clifton Bush can't recall ever experiencing a non-winning culture, that Hawks have embraced, in two decades of playing elite basketball. Photo/ File

Tough love. That's what the caretaker coaching stable has been resorting to in trying to overcome a defeatist culture of acceptance among the hapless Hawks.

"A lot of coaches don't see it that way but when you have to push someone to get the best out of them then that's what you get," says first assistant coach Clifton Bush II.

Bush says motivating the Taylor Corporation-sponsored players anyway they can takes priority in a bid to compel them to player harder and smarter, before they tip off at 7pm against Taranaki Mountainairs in New Plymouth in their penultimate National Basketball League (NBL) match today.

The Jarrod Kenny and Everard Bartlett co-skippered Hawks, who have been out of the Final Four and en route to finishing last on the table for consecutive seasons, should have won several games but, on reflection, have come up agonisingly shy bar one blowout game.

"The last time we played Taranaki we were losing by 30 points when we came storming back in the fourth quarter when we were down by two and about 11 seconds to go," says Bush, revealing it hasn't been easy coming into a culture that had become entrenched for two years.

He, coach Benny Hill and second assistant Kaine Hokianga, can conjure the best-laid plans and push the players physically and mentally but the onus remained in the players' court to embrace the mentality of going out to every game to land it on the line.

Sometimes players, Bush says, simply don't come out to play although the mentors are mindful motivation is lacking when teams are out of the playoffs.

Frankly, he feels you don't play a game "not to lose" so adopting a mindset of winning every game, no matter the opposition, is imperative.

Regrettably it was painfully obvious that hadn't been instilled pre-season although he feels for the players who have "hearts of champions".

"It wasn't very good," he says. "I would describe it as the non-winning culture."

Bush puts it down to players settling into a groove of going through the motions.

That is not to say he doesn't appreciate the collective coming off the court with empty emotional and passionate tanks.

"It's just that once you get into that rut and you lose with your backs against the wall your confidence is shot so you lose again," he says of a vicious cycle that becomes a slippery banana skin.

"It's when you start accepting it that's the biggest disappointment to me."

Bush believes a rash of losses truly exposes the character of a team.

"I have had one season in 20 years of basketball, like the Hawks are having now," he says of his maiden season in Iceland, the most physical league he had played where the Breidablik team were 13-0 down when he joined them.

"We didn't have a team, to be honest, because the guys just turned up for a game and were getting used to that."

From where Bush, Hill and second assistant coach Kaine Hokianga are tweaking their system, for a winning culture to manifest itself every player, from the best to the development one, has to undergo a mentality check.

"That mentality is never say lose or we must never accept losing."

A bad boy on the NBL court in his heyday, the former Hawk always left his emotions on the court. He was never shy of a word and had a penchant for getting under the skin of his opponents but always had to "walk the talk".

"They are trying to do the same thing over and over again and are expecting a different result, which is basically a definition of insanity," says the bloke who was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

Bush, who also coached Breidablik in division one of the women's league in Iceland, says Hill has been doing a fine job of rebooting the memory bank of players.

Not having had an input from the helm at the beginning of the season has made that task more difficult.

Former Tall Fern Kirstin Daly-Taylor resigned as coach late in April amid allegations she had lost respect from some players.

"It was a no-brainer and I accepted it [the job] right away," he says of how he and Hill coached the division two Hawke's Bay men's team to a title last season.

Bush has known Hill since he was a young man grinding his teeth in the NBL.

"With so many years together we sort of get that kind of rapport together where we can straight shoot with each other and go about our business."

He recalls the time he, Paul Henare and Paora Winitana were Hawks when scrimmages were so intense coaches would have to stop them to urge them to calm down.

"We've had one training like that but I want to see every one like that," he says, adding once on the court you play twice as hard.

Bush says he loves every player and will go to war with them but believes every group needs a stern talking to once in a while.

"You have to hold your teammates accountable for their actions on the court and in trainings.

"There would have been nobody in my team, over the years, who would be slacking off in training because I would walk up to them and let them have it."

It's hard, he says, but basketball isn't golf and hard work equals fun.

Bush says on paper the Hawks look sound but when talent fails to work hard victory always will be elusive.

During a winter of despair, he has discovered who the loyal fans have been and thanks them on behalf of the franchise.

He thinks Hill is perfect for the job but needs a start from pre-season on and he will enjoy working with him.